anything

lol i think I heard that he did! i usually watch it all at the end without all the breaks and commercials. so now you've spoiled it for me!

i think there is a higher percentage of good snowboarders here in Japan than elsewhere ive skied. for me its the noob snowboarders that give you that reputation. not the good ones. so maybe thats why you dont see as much of the hate here. theres also a lot more snow to share around than other places. from an Olympics tv viewpoint, compared to Shaun White the other snowboarders look like theyre barely able to stand up, let alone land the stunts, so its no mystery whos gonna win and less interesting to watch.

i think its just a decision by the resort when purchasing the lift. perhaps im boring, but i think itd be interesting to witness the whole a-z of getting a lift some time. the speed of fixed lifts is determined by how fast they thought people could survive getting smacked in the legs, and afaik it hasn't changed since. detachable speeds vary, but are at least 2.5x the speed of fixed grip lifts. so if one of them stopped in a big hurry having a safety bar might save some people from falling out. but imo its mostly about kids and those afraid of heights. i usually dont use the bar, and hav

im on a proper visa, but considering that i dont work here and the effort involved i think ill fall back to tourist visa next year. late last year i called immigration in Tokyo and they actually suggested the whole jump out of the country for a week deal that people do. i was rather shocked that they brought it up. but they added that they probably wouldn't be very happy if you did it more than once a year, other people i talked to concur. id still be very afraid of doing it tho, still sounds naughty. 20k Canadian? for 4 months? that sounds like hirafu prices. kutchan prices vary, som

I think my hairy ass might be enough to cancel the whole event. is that a camera duct-taped to her helmet?

Staff are usually provided accom by the companies they work for. Theyre often in really good locations actually, but are the lowest of low quality. Under 30 Aussies can get a one time 12 month work visa quite easily. I hear the Brits can get a work visa even easier. It can sometimes be difficult to find some accom, depending on how picky you are. Its obviously easier finding just a room than it is to find your own place. This year ive been a little cautious of some of the offerings. I had two very scam sounding offers - people wanting the whole balance upfront, for a place they cant desc

If theyre the travel cards Im thinking of, they dont work 90% of the atms & shops, and come with huge fees.

Not good. The quad is often on wind hold with strong winds. Then it's just the 'B' doule chair and the queues can get quite long. thanks. i really need to get there more

Hi! Aside from overpriced restaurants n stuff? fyi, smoking is allowed in many restaurants from 9pm ish, my burning eyes really puts me off my appetite. youll need to book if you want to eat at peak time, your accom can probably help you book. I hope your accommodation is already all organized, its very busy this year The deep powder will work your legs hard, so you're going to be dead tired, and maybe not up to doing much anyway. There are a few onsens around town, all of which have magical super powers for fixing your legs up for the next day. However from about 4pm to 7pm it

whats Moiwa's lift status like with strong winds? thinking I might head that way on Sat to get away from people.

Interested in how your detachable snow depth testing devices (aka skis) found the trees in Rusutsu. I've heard several reports that its not really ready yet, but others (and from what i can see in your pictures) suggest that its just enough now, with just a bit of Sasa grass sticking through.

only 5-10cm last night so i lazily got out and went up with the intention of just doing it for the sake of some skiing on Christmas, but it turned out into a very nice day for me.

I always put mine furtherest from the road or exits to the area. you see many with locks tho. to me it seems to be the mindless tourists who accidently take the wrong set. a 140cm tall girl taking my 190cm skis right in front of me didn't seem to realize anything was out of place. a couple of companies run valet services for their guests. you may be able to still be able to pay for this service if youre not with them. at Hirafu the King and Ace restaurants halfway up the hill have ski racks also. you could bring them up first run and leave/lock them there. might make things more secu

thanks for the awesome pics and great day skiing Mike, Greg, Chris and Steve. and now today looks like its probably the same quality snow gain! my legs disagree.

+1 for doing it right. so many times i see tourists go all out and spend $2k on a full kit, that's crap, and the never use it again anyway. edit: tho id have to admit ive spent my fair share on junk too. you're in for quite an improvement in ability. my first season I thought I was pretty shit hot for perisher's standards, but I was still able to look back and see/feel noticeable improvements every week, sometimes even day to day! you're going to be spending a lot of time on powder, so if the board you end up with has some old edges and some some scratches on the base its not the end of

each year i usually only stay in Niseko until first week of April, and unless you're already nearby, i probably would recommend going elsewhere. by late March/April its frozen ice in the morning from the previous day's melt, or sloppy wet grippy slush melting very fast in the heat in the afternoon. there's about 30 minutes in between that is ok to ski (i am quite a snow snob tho, spoiled from many seasons). there is still some extremely rare fresh snow falling, but often rain with it so I wouldn't rely on it. additionally most of the shops, restaurants, and accommodation in Hirafu close up on

thanks for the suggestion, been so sick of shitty reviews

from what i understand, unless you're a super race pro, sintered boards only need waxing a couple of times a season. especially when you're mostly floating on powder. for an extruded base it isnt worth the effort, it peels away after 2 runs and you get laughed at by skiers passing you on the flat (extruded base skis dont exist afaik, and its finally become rare for snowboards now too) prior to fancy polymer manufacturing techniques the bases werent flat enough, so needed frequent waxing for proper surface contact. new boards/skis usually come with a thin layer of wax that you can get awa

hah yeah good point there Wiggles. it is very well designed. I attribute the magical properties of my jacket to the Goretex tho. especially vs my UA jacket, that was as breathable as wearing a plastic bag. I thought I would alert readers that Arc'teryx have restrictions on international shipping of their items. So if you're outside USA you wont be able to order from the US, even tho theyre about half the price of prices in Japan. You can use a service like shipito dot com

i didnt think anything was wrong with my old jacket with their own-brand waterproofing solution, until i replaced it with an arc'teryx goretex model last year. it seems to have magical powers to keep me warm in cold and windy, cool when im working hard and hot, and dry when sweating my ass off without letting the sweat cool afterwards and make me feel colder.

warmth comes from the stationary air trapped by clothing or whatever that works to insulate your hands and feet. but obviously you need some circulation to warm that air up. so for both reasons you need to make sure your gloves and boots arent too tight, or you will just squeeze all the air & blood away. instinct tells you to make your boots real tight around your toes for better control, but all it does is make your feet cold. i also unclip one or two of my boot buckles for better blood flow on long lift rides. makes a big difference when you intend on skiing for many hours. you mig

agree with ozsnowbum, boots > goggles > gloves > skis/board > everything else ever tried to board/ski with your eyes closed? i dont think you need to go crazy, but i think you would regret not getting a decent pair. any research you do will be rewarding. I definitely choose the lens color I want first, and go from there. I see these poor tourists getting around Niseko with the dark brown reflective lenses. Colorado yes, but not here! oh, and make sure its dual lens not some cheapo ripoff, and obviously an anti fog coating. ive seen some crazy wayyy overpriced big name br

ive been a hestra fan for quite a long time until recently i was very disappointed with my latest set of gloves (purchased at start of last season). they packed out almost immediately, were nowhere near as versatile as the previous pair i had (warm in cold, cold in warm), and the stitching for the leather is already showing signs of wear and coming undone. the same stuff happened to my old pair, but after more than 300 days on snow plus snow shoveling!, these are failing after only about 100 skiing. i think ill be getting something else next time. which models were they? Ar

ive been a hestra fan for quite a long time until recently i was very disappointed with my latest set of gloves (purchased at start of last season). they packed out almost immediately, were nowhere near as versatile as the previous pair i had (warm in cold, cold in warm), and the stitching for the leather is already showing signs of wear and coming undone. the same stuff happened to my old pair, but after more than 300 days on snow plus snow shoveling!, these are failing after only about 100 skiing. i think ill be getting something else next time.

ooh, theyve gone back to the white. did you have trouble getting them? when i got mine last season everyone was sold out when i got them i was so impressed i setup an 'its complicated' relationship with mine on facebook for a while.